Agricultural policy reforms and WTO commitments on domestic support in Japan

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of Japan＇s agricultural domestic policy since 1995 in the context of the current international negotiations in the WTO Doha Round, which has as one aim further reductions of trade-distorting support among member countries. Apparently, Japan＇s attitude towards agricultural domestic policy reform is one of compliance with the WTO, which requests member countries to reduce their Aggregate Measure of Support （AMS） through trimming trade-distorting （amber box） support and/or transforming traditional-type agricultural subsidies to decoupled-type ones. Japan reduced its amber box support by nearly 80 percent between 1995 and 2000. This drastic reduction is mainly attributable to Japan＇s removal of rice from the amber box in 1998. In addition, following the WTO＇s principle of decoupling, Japan launched an extensive agricultural subsidy reform in 2007. This paper, however, shows the ironical realities of Japanese agricultural policy. Neither a sharp reduction of amber box support nor Japan＇s 2007 reform necessarily means there will be a reduction of trade-distorting effects. On the contrary, the 2007 reform may in fact stimulate domestic rice production.     

Distribution of dioxins in surface soils and river-mouth sediments and their relevance to watershed properties.

The dioxins toxic equivalent (TEQ) concentration in surface soils, river sediments and river-mouth sediments was measured by the CALUX assay in the Yasu and Ado River basins around Lake Biwa, Japan. In order to examine the distribution of dioxins in each watershed, we evaluated and compared the correlation between the dioxins TEQ concentration and the solid characteristics (i.e. organic carbon content and particle size distribution) of all samples. In both basins, the dioxins TEQ concentration in forest soil correspondingly showed a very good linear relationship to organic carbon content. On the other hand, the dioxins TEQ concentration in paddy field was significantly high, although organic carbon content was relatively low. Generally, the smaller particles have the higher dioxins TEQ concentrations in surface soils, and river sediments were composed of very coarse particles and had relatively low dioxins TEQ concentration. Therefore, we expected high dioxins TEQ concentration in river-mouth sediment, which was, however, not the case. Although the dioxins TEQ concentration in river-mouth sediments is low, the degree of dioxins pollution was different in each basin. The difference was considered to come from the difference of watershed properties including land use, river-slope, dam construction as well as the surface soil pollution.     

High-performance liquid chromatography-bioassay profiles of endocrine disrupters discharged from point and non-point pollution sources in Lake Biwa basin

Toxic pollution loading from both point and non‐point sources in Lake Biwa should be further reduced. In order to tackle toxicity problems, it is necessary to analyse characteristics of toxic pollution. We have developed a new profiling technique to display toxic distributions of endocrine disrupters in complex mixtures of environmental samples, using high‐performance liquid chromatography in combination with yeast bioassays. We have applied this technique to the major point and non‐point pollution sources in the Lake Biwa basin, that is, to municipal sewage‐treatment water (point) and road dust (non‐point). The dominant oestrogenic chemical in sewage‐treatment water was 17 β‐estradiol. The extracts from screened road dust showed arylhydrocarbon‐receptor binding activity (AhR–ligand activity), with much of this located in smaller particles of sifted dust. There were at least seven major AhR–ligand peaks in the road‐dust sample.     

Collusive behavior under a leniency program

We investigate how a leniency program, which is a policy that gives reduced penalties to colluding firms that cooperate with investigations of the Antitrust Authority, affects firms’ collusive behavior. Using a model of quantity competition, we show that an amnesty to the second or later candidates of a leniency program is of no use if colluding firms can choose the most profitable collusion. Because a leniency program is a general rule that is applied to various markets in a country, our result implies that the design of a leniency program depends on which kinds of market structure are prevalent in the country.     

Pollution abatement efforts: a regional analysis of the Chinese industrial sector

Although China has had rapid economic growth, it has borne a more significant economic burden or loss because of environmental pollution. However, the country has addressed this problem with various pollution abatement efforts. Some prior studies analysed the relationship between such efforts and pollution emissions, but did not show how these efforts affect pollution reduction. This study investigates the effects of pollution abatement efforts on industrial SO_X, NO_X and CO₂ emissions in the context of pollution reduction in China by panel data for 29 provinces from 1995 to 2010. The empirical results are as follows. First, emissions have increased rapidly in the 2000s. Second, rapid income growth has led to a greater increase in emissions. Third, pollution abatement would assist improvements in environmental quality. Further, this study reveals that abatement efforts affect emissions through the adoption of pollution removal measures.     

丁坝群近体流动结构的可视化实验研究

本文介绍了用颜料示踪和最新的油膜技术对流动进行可视化记录以研究淹没丁坝群的近体流场分布的试验结果。结果表明绕丁坝的近场流动具有强三维非恒定特性，表现在坝后振荡回流区的形成和坝顶表面波的生成。在坝头的分离区，流动加速并伴有二次回流，形成该处冲刷的水力学条件。在深淹没条件下丁坝后面主回流区的形成主要受制于坝顶的绕流，以垂向方向的回流为主，同时也受到坝头侧面分离流的影响，产生水平方向的倾斜和扭转。颜料示踪捕捉到丁坝近体的瞬间三维流动形态，油膜照片则清晰地显示出了床底及侧壁的旋涡大小及位置。     

An Artificial Neural Network Test For Structural Change With Unspecified Parametric Form

Tests for a structural change of unknown timing in parameterized regression functions have been introduced previously under the maintained assumption that the models are correctly specified. However, the existing family of tests are unable to discriminate between structural change and misspecification. This paper introduces test statistics which do not require specification of the parametric form of the underlying data-generating process (DGP). I approximate it by a version of artificial neural networks (ANN). My simulation studies indicate that an ANN approximates the DGP quite well and that the derived tests have good power relative to the power envelope.
JEL Classification Numbers: C12, C14, C45.     

Nitrate removal with low N2O emission by application of sulfur denitrification in actual agricultural field.

Sulfur denitrification was applied to the agricultural field and the characteristics of the treatment were evaluated from the viewpoints of nitrate removal efficiency and nitrous oxide (N2O) emission. Two actual sites where sulfur denitrification was performed were surveyed. One is a valley bottom field, where groundwater contaminated with nitrate is coming up as spring water. The nitrate concentration in influent was about 45 mgN/L. The other was wastewater from a plastic greenhouse. The nitrate concentration in inflow water was about 200 mgN/L. Nitrate was almost removed by the containers packed with sulfur (S0)-CaCO3 blocks in both sites. Increase of sulfate indicated that nitrate was removed by sulfur denitrification. This was also estimated stoichiometrically from the relationships between the removed nitrate and produced sulfate. The N2O was supersaturated in water at most sampling points and the highest concentration of dissolved N2O reached 900 microgN/L in Saitama in March. It seemed that insufficient nitrate removal caused accumulation of intermediates during denitrification, such as nitrite and N2O, in this month. However, the emission ratio of N2O to the removed nitrate during these processes was kept low, ranging from 0.01 to 0.19%, at both two sites throughout all surveys.     

Alternative Land-Price Indexes for Commercial Properties in Tokyo

The System of National Accounts (SNA) requires separate estimates for the land and structure components of a commercial property. Using transactions data for the sales of office buildings in Tokyo, a hedonic regression model (the “builder’s model”) was estimated and this model generated an overall property price index as well as subindexes for the land and structure components of the office buildings. The builder’s model was also estimated using appraisal data on office building real estate investment trusts (REITs) for Tokyo. These hedonic regression models also generated estimates for net depreciation rates, which can be compared. Finally, the Japanese government constructs annual official land prices for commercial properties based on appraised values. The paper compares these official land prices with the land prices generated by the hedonic regression models based on transactions data and on REIT data. The results reveal that commercial property indexes based on appraisal and assessment prices lag behind the indexes based on transaction prices.     

A cost-effectiveness analysis of denosumab for the prevention of skeletal-related events in patients with multiple myeloma in the United States of America

Objective: A large, pivotal, phase 3 trial in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) demonstrated that denosumab, compared with zoledronic acid, was non-inferior for the prevention of skeletal-related events (SREs), extended the observed median progression-free survival (PFS) by 10.7 months, and showed significantly less renal toxicity. The cost-effectiveness of denosumab vs zoledronic acid in MM in the US was assessed from societal and payer perspectives.

Methods: The XGEVA Global Economic Model was developed by integrating data from the phase 3 trial comparing the efficacy of denosumab with zoledronic acid for the prevention of SREs in MM. SRE rates were adjusted to reflect the real-world incidence. The model included utility decrements for SREs, administration, serious adverse events (SAEs), and disease progression. Drug, administration, SRE management, SAEs, and anti-MM treatment costs were based on data from published studies. For the societal perspective, the model additionally included SRE-related direct non-medical costs and indirect costs. The net monetary benefit (NMB) was calculated using a willingness-to-pay threshold of US$150,000. One-way deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted.

Results: From a societal perspective, compared with zoledronic acid, the use of denosumab resulted in an incremental cost of US$26,329 and an incremental quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) of 0.2439, translating into a cost per QALY gained of US$107,939 and a NMB of US$10,259 in favor of denosumab. Results were sensitive to SRE rates and PFS parameters.

Limitations: Costs were estimated from multiple sources, which varied by tumor type, patient population, country, and other parameters. PFS and overall survival were extrapolated beyond the follow-up of the primary analysis using fitted parametric curves.

Conclusion: Denosumab’s efficacy in delaying or preventing SREs, potential to improve PFS, and lack of renal toxicity make it a cost-effective option for the prevention of SREs in MM compared with zoledronic acid.